John Wallis on sound symbolism

The aim of this paper is to give an account of John Wallis's analysis of sound symbolism in his English Grammar (1653), and to position this in the larger context of contemporary linguistic controversies concerning the search for a universal or philosophical language, as discussed both by other thinkers in the circle of the Royal Society and also by scholars on the continent of Europe. Although Wallis is usually taken to be a critical observer rather than an active participant in these debates, the paper will attempt to provide detailed evidence for his having been a previously unidentified source for the various alternative proposals for phonetic notation developed in John Wilkin's philosophical language scheme (1688).